From the Past
by Raven007
Summary: Formerly 'Mighty Max 2.0' This is an ongoing story about Mighty Max. It takes place roughly 4 years after the plotline on the show ended. There will be some blood and gore, and who knows what else!
1. Part 1

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*Note: This story takes place about 3 and a half years after the show ended (I'm factoring that Max was 12 when the show ended). SkullMaster has since bit the big one, along will all of his forces from the center of the Earth.*

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Mighty Max 2.0

__

Blonde hair, long, flowing. Azure eyes, piercing, deadly. Full, pouting lips, hard, golden, immaculate, skin. Muscle and curve in perfect unison. Taunt, ready, deadly. In every rise and fall of a flawless chest, sensual grace. The curve of her hips, the small of her back, the rise of her head, perfection. Pride, strength, exotic lust. She slowly inhales, her bare throat flexes slightly by the motion. As always, she knows he is there, watching her.

With a shake of her head, honey colored tresses caught by the jungle breeze, she leaps from the boulder and into the trees. Like a gazelle, graceful, quick, she runs.

Not knowing why, the warrior follows, running through the foliage, leaping anything in his path. Roan colored hair, streaming behind him, brambles ripping at his solid, bronzed flesh, he follows. He is feral, primal, yet his mind echoes with other worlds, lives only whispered in his memories. 

He can smell her, feel her in the air like electricity, she likes to run… he likes to hunt. The warrior growls, deep, ageless. His speed increases, coffee colored eyes narrowing, focused. His muscles ripple with arousal and adrenaline. He ceases to notice the brambles ripping at his skin. 

Sweat drips from his tanned flesh as he enters a small clearing surrounded by tall cliffs. The warrior can hear the rushing of water from a waterfall as it thunders down from high atop one of the cliffs. He feels the spray from it's cascading falls on his defined face. This is her place; this jungle her kingdom, these cliffs, her throne. 

Then she is there. Leaning upon a boulder clad in an almost non existent tiger skin. Her blue-green eyes alive, ready. She is waiting. The woman parts her lips and beacons him with a breath, stretching her head longingly to the side.

The warrior needs no more invitation, his hunger is already at it's peak. With long strides he comes and kneels before her, his pray, that has become his master. Grabbing her delicately around the waist he pulls the woman slightly forward and gently kisser her stomach. Her flesh is hot and he can taste the salt from her skin.

She intertwines her fingers through his hair as she lowers shelf to the ground and lightly pulls back the warriors head. Her piercing, clever eyes meet his hard, lust filled ones and for a moment, they are as all were meant to be. Alive, unmasked, feeling…

He grabs her in his chiseled arms and roughly kisses her tender mouth as she returns his lust with soft moan. This is it, the moment he has burned for, at long last… he will have her…

"Norman!!!" Virgil yelled in a slightly irate tone, "Wake up!!"

The roan haired warrior's eyes flew open as he sat bolt up right, sweat covering his body. "Huh… Wha?" He asked confused as he looked, wild eyed around the cave. 

With a deeply disapproving sigh, Virgil walked to the other end of the cave, "that was the fifth time that I tried to wake you, Norman."

"Yeah…Sorry," the guardian mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. That damn dream again, it was haunting him! Even as he stood and stretched, the dream, the images were vivid in his mind as though etched there for all eternity. 

Poking at the small fire that Norman had made before he had gone to sleep, Virgil looked at his friend with concern. "Norman," Virgil asked seriously, "is there… perhaps, something on your mind?"

At his comment The warrior took a deep breath. After ten thousand years there was not much Virgil didn't know about him, nor was there much that he was able to hide. However, this was different, this was more personal. "I'm just tired," Norman said darkly, which was not exactly a lie. He had been having this dream every night for the last two months and though he had kind of enjoyed it at first, it was beginning to get to him. In an attempt to evade the dream, Norman had tried to stop sleeping and had been doing pretty well at it until tonight.

"Indeed," said Virgil allowing his tone to convey that he was not convinced. 

The guardinan looked harshly at Virgil, as if to say let it go.

The Lemurian sighed, and changed the subject. "We will need to speak with the Mighty One tomorrow, this time has almost come."

Norman only nodded and walked towards the fire, picking up a bowl of Virgil's home made stew on the way.

"I hope he is ready," Virgil stated with severity and genuine concern, "for we cannot afford anymore time."

"He's ready," mumbled Norman through mouthfuls of Stew.

Virgil sighed and stood up, "I only wish there was a way to be sure. This is a most important time in young Max's life and his future as the Mighty One depends on it." The fowl lowered his voice then added, "all of our futures depend on it." Picking up the ancient text that he was never without, Virgil gently placed the book down upon a rock and flipped it open. 

Located inside of the book were ancient passages and prophecies along with information on almost every evil in existence. The tome had once only been a small piece in a collection of volumes so vast that it had spanned several libraries, however, that was centuries ago. Now this book was the only piece of literature that remained of a once proud and highly advanced race of beings known as the Lemurians. 

"Max'll do fine," said Norman as he placed the bowl down near the fire and yawned, "we'll make sure of it."

Looking up from the Arcana, Virgil nodded, "We will do our best, Norman… however I still think that he should be here, training with us instead of on a field trip!"

__

'Here it comes' Norman thought to himself as he leaned back against a cool stone wall. Norman was referring to Virgil's promise to the Fifteen year old Max. The Lemurian had told Max, albeit reluctantly, that he could go to Chicago with his high school class, and that he and Norman would not bother him for the duration of the trip. There would be no world saving for Max, and he could have the life of a normal teenager for one week.

Virgil sighed and closed the book, "we must go to Chicago and acquire Max."

The guardian grunted in disdain and set about the business of grabbing his hulking sword and a sharpening stone. "You gave your word, Virgil."

"I'm aware of that, however…"

"And we WILL NOT break our word." 

Sniffing in indignation, Virgil looked at Norman and narrowed his eyes. "Very well, Norman. We will not intervene with The Mighty One's vacation… unless, that is, necessity warrants." That said, the fowl picked up his book and, with an air of decorum, strode out of the cave. 


	2. part 2

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Part 2

Loud punk music blared from the small nightclub in Chicago's upper south side. Nicknamed 'the link,' Lincoln Square Night Club was one of Chicago's more popular metal / punk rock bars and was more often that not packed with every kind of person you could imagine. Leather pants and heavy metal band T-shirts were always in abundance along with chain link jewelry, and hair of every shade of the rainbow. The mood at the Link was always that of fun and an adrenaline filled night. 

Even now, though it was only nine p.m. a large crowd had formed outside, and most from inside spilled out into the street. People where everywhere mingling, laughing, fighting and in general, having a good time. The scene was much the same inside of the club, with people packed in to the rafters, each dancing, moshing, or running about. Alcohol was everywhere, along with cigarettes and various types of drugs ranging from prescription to the highly illegal. 

The pace in the club sped up even more as the band switched to a faster song, a song the crowd knew and loved. 

"You took what was mine," the lead singer hollered into his microphone as the audience went wild. "You'll get it all this time." 

The two guitarists were playing their hearts out as the drummer thrashed around on the drums, hammering out the notes to the band's most popular song, 'Drown Revenge.' The whole group had a hand in writing this one, and they were all proud of it, therefore they played it especially well. However the one who had poured the most into it was the groups lead singer, Preston Hall. So when he belted out the words it was as if you could feel them in the very depths of your soul.

However, there was one person in the back of the club who was not feeling the words, in fact, all she was feeling was a splitting headache. "Max!" Bea yelled at her blonde friend who was in the middle of screaming out the lyrics to the song. "Max!!!"

Turning to his friend with a smile on his face, Max Bankes leaned in closer to her, "Great aren't they!?" Max bellowed into Bea's ear.

"Great?" She began loudly, "Max, I can't hear a thing!"

Max nodded his read capped head, "yeah, they ARE amazing!" Max then turned away from her and went back to head banging with his other friend, Felix.

'_Damn him_,' she thought to herself as she attempted to plug her ears even more than she had been before. '_Out of all the places to visit in Chicago, why did he have to pick here?_' Bea was not only upset at Max's choice of music, but also at the fact that they had gone to a night club. They were all only 15 and could be arrested for being in here, even if they weren't drinking. 

Unplugging her ear long enough to brush a lock of her short, black hair out of her face, she sighed. This school trip to Chicago had been her chance to prove to her mother how responsible and mature she was, but look at her now. In a metal bar in some city she had never been to before. '_If I wasn't in love with Max…_' Bea stopped her thinking before it could go any further, it was pointless. Max only thought of her was a friend, one of the guys… a bookworm. Loudly she sighed, '_damn him_.'

Max on the other hand was having the time of his life! He was not only away from home, but he was with his two best friends, in a bar, and listening to Felix's favorite band play live. As he continued to dance he smiled deeply, this was a great way to spend the week before his 16th birthday, but the best part of all was that for this next week Virgil had promised him that he would not have to save the world. "Falling, falling, falling… can't let go!" Max yelled out along with the song, "Hit the ground bleeding, it's all you know!"

~*~

After the band had finished, Felix had insisted that they wait out back for over an hour and a half to get autographs.

"So Fe, where did you hear about these guys?" Max asked as he leaned on the brick wall behind the night club. 

Lighting up a cigarette, Felix grinned, "My sister banged the drummer last year."

Max snickered and rolled his eyes at the thought of Felix's sister. She banged everybody.

Bea looked disgusted, "What does that have to do with you?" She pulled her warm jacket tighter around her as the wind started to pick up.

"Well," explained Felix, "I was staying with her when she did it, next night the dude took her to a rehearsal, she brought me along. Been hooked ever since." Felix took a long drag of his smoke then continued, "it's too bad their only local and don't have any CD's or anything."

"Yeah," stated Max adjusting his position on the wall, "they rule ass, especially that guitarist chick, she was a hottie."

Felix nodded in agreement, "Amen to that." He looked at the large, white van parked outside of the door with a sappy smile on his face.

Folding her arms over her chest, Bea scowled at the two boys, "is that all you guys ever think about?"

Max and Felix looked at each other, then coursed proudly, "yes."

"Disgusting."

"Oh stop being such a bring down, Bea," said Max as he patted her shoulder. "We had fun tonight, and tomorrow we'll go to the museums, just like you wanted."

At this Felix dropped his smoke and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, "we'll what?"

Smiling cordially, Bea walked over to Felix, "in exchange for me coming tonight, you go the museums with Max and I tomorrow."

"Says who?"

Max spoke up, "says me… the Mighty one, and the birthday boy."

Hanging his shoulders in defeat, the brunette sighed, "bunk. Fine, whatever."

It was at that moment that the backdoor swung open and two of the four members of 25 to Life walked out of the bar carrying band equipment.

"Preston," said the dark skinned drummer in an annoyed voice, "you could carry something heavier then a microphone stand."

Preston laughed, brushing his blue tinted hair out of his face with his free hand, "not after all the shit I had to drink tonight." Putting down the microphone stand the tanned male heaved open the side door to the van for his friend. "Anyway," Preston sassed, "I couldn't open the door if I was caring stuff, Jeff." 

"Shut up," Jeff grunted as he placed an amp into the van then climbed in after it. 

Alex Carter, lead guitarist for the group was the next one out the door, his arms full of cords, hookups and his guitar. "A little help?"

Knowing that Alex wouldn't let him get away with not lifting a finger, Preston grabbed Alex's guitar and placed it gently in it's spot in the van. "We can make more than one trip, ya' know?"

"I know," said Alex with a grin as he turned around, "but where's the fun in that?" It was then that his expression changed from that of good humor to one of confusion. "Who the hell are they?" He asked, looking at Max, Bea and Felix.

Jeff and Preston looked up from their tasks, their eyes also falling on the three teenagers.

"I dunno," Jeff said unimpressed as he grabbed the cords from Alex and placed them in the back of the van. 

"You guys were really slammin'," Max piped up as he smiled at Alex and Preston, "ultrashibby!"

"Yeah," said Preston, happy to have an excuse not to carry more equipment, "so you caught the show?" He stepped from the van and went to stand next to Max.

Felix nodded as he flicked a freshly lit cigarette into a puddle, "you rocked, hard-core."

Preston grinned, as he ran a hand through his blue-tinted hair and leaned on the wall of the building. "Glad you liked it."

"I don't think his ego could get much bigger," Alex mumbled as he and Jeff walked back into the building to get more equipment.

At this Bea snickered, then quickly looked up at the clouds in the night sky.

"I more than LIKED it," Max began as he gestured with his hands, "it was the best!" 

Quickly pulling a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket, Max passed it to Preston. "Can I have an autograph, dude."

Preston took the paper and fished around in the pocket of his baggy jeans for a pen. Upon finding one, he quickly wrote the name of the group and then signed his own name underneath. "Her ya' go," he said handing it back. 

"We got the autograph," mumbled Bea to Max, "can we go now?"

"Bea," said Max under his breath, "you're embarrassing me."

Preston folded his arms over his chest, "man, girlfriends can be such a pain."

At this Felix began to roar with laughter and had to lean even further into the wall to keep himself from falling over.

"Shut-up," growled Bea as she smacked him the head causing Felix to lose his balance and fall onto the cement.

"Ow," he said through laughs, "ow…"

Preston grinned, "why don't you guys come back in and have a drink? My treat."

Max's face lit up a like a light bulb as Felix leaped from the ground at the mention of free booze.

"Max, no," whispered Bea harshly, as she grabbed his arm, "we can't!"

Pulling Max from the girl's grip Felix took on an air of dignity, "we most certainly can!" He squared his shoulders, adjusted the seems of his long leather coat lifted his stubbly chin, "Maximillion, shall we?"

Max tossed his blonde head and he too raised his chin, "yes, master Felix," he declared in a mock British accent, "Beatrice?" 

Bea was faced with quite a dilemma. On the one hand she really did not want to go back into the bar and run the risk of getting arrested, but on the other she really didn't want Max in there without her to look out for him. After a brief moment, she hung her head, "fine," Bea mumbled as she allowed Max to lead her back into the bar. 

~*~

Max had been sitting at the table with Felix and Preston for about an hour, and he felt that he was having the best time of his entire life. Though, he wasn't really sure how much or what exactly he'd had to drink, Max knew that it had been pretty good and he was totally drunk. With bleary, blue eyes he looked across the table at Felix, who was in the middle of a chugging contest with Preston. Max grinned as best he could, Felix had been a lush since birth, so Max wasn't worried about him, however as he looked to the dance floor and saw Bea moshing with a group of people, a little apprehension began to set in.

'_I hope she's gonna be OK_,' he thought as he had another sip of the brown liquid in front of him. '_OK… OK… Who's gonna be OK?_' he wondered as his eyes traversed the room, '_what was I thinking, again?_' Feeling a little woozy, the blonde leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The loud music from the bar rang through Max's head and he swore that he felt the base pumping through his veins, "nice," he whispered.

When Max opened his eyes again, the music had died down to a dull roar and all the people in the club were gone save for Felix who was lighting up a smoke and chewing on piece of beef jerky, and Bea who was fast asleep next to him.

Upon seeing his friend open his eyes, Felix got a lopsided grin on his face, "ya' pashed out, Max," he slurred, "sheap drunk, you is."

Max groaned as he tried to stand up and stretch, "I can't believe I passed out," he said as his head started to clear a little bit. Looking around he frowned, "where is everybody?"

"Dude," said Felix with a giggle, "ish three shirty, e'ryone's home by now. Preshtons gonna get us a ride."

Knowing that a way back to the hotel was taken care of, Max relaxed, "shibby."

~*~

"Preston," said the blonde guitarist in a dangerous tone, "why am I on taxi duty?"

"Jules," Preston said soothingly as he brushed a lock of her hair from her tanned face, "they're just kids and they really don't have any other way to get home."

"Alex?"

"He has to drive the van, and Jeff and me are wasted." Stepping closer to her, the singer smiled flirtatiously, "besides, I can make it worth your while…" Preston's invitation was more than clear.

Giving the him a shove, Julie rolled her azure eyes and smirked. "With your teeny weenie, boy please." Grabbing the keys to her car from a near by table, she left Preston slack jawed and more than a little irate. "That is if you could even rise to the occasion." That said she jogged off to find Max and his friends.

"Yo' mama," Preston growled as he picked up a beer and headed out of the back door.

~*~

"So, uh… nice night?" Max had been trying to make conversation with the pretty blonde who was driving him to the hotel, but so far he had gotten little more than a few one word answers and a nod. Plus, it didn't help that Bea and Felix were passed out in the back seat, leaving him to his own devices. 

"I guess," Julie Carter said quietly as she whipped the small black car around yet another corner. She knew that her being here wasn't Max's fault, and she really didn't mind the kid that much, but the way Preston had talked to her really upset her.

"Yeah."

Julie nodded and continued to drive, "Wanna do me a favor and grab my _Korn_ CD from the glove box?" 

Eager to please, Max popped open the over-flowing glove compartment and began to root through papers and sunglasses, looking for the CD. "Korn rules," he said offhandedly.

"Uh huh, they do," Slowing the car to a stop, the Blonde, glowered at the now red light in front of her and then sighed. _'Why do I always let him get to me?' _Julie questioned herself. Finding no answer and deciding that being angry wasn't going to solve anything, she took a deep, cleansing breath. After that was done, Julie's mind felt a little more at ease. "Hey kid?"

"It's Max" said Max, still looking for the CD.

"Max, You like Ice cream?"

To this he gave a vigorous nod, "best food in the whole world next to hot-dogs." 

Liking his answer, Julie drove through the red light, pulled up to a small all night diner and turned off the ignition. "Let me buy you a cone to make up for being such a bitch."

Putting the newly found CD back in the glove box, Max smiled. "Sure!"

The two of them sat in the diner for about an hour getting to know each other and in general just having a good time. Julie learned that Max's mom was an archaeologist, like her own and that the two women had actually worked together on several digs. The blonde had also discovered that Max was in 10th Grade at George Washington High school, in Santa Barbara, California, and he had a mad crush on Tyra Banks. 

Max, on the other had not really learned that much about Julie and he was determined to even the score. "I like your band a lot," Max said through as he powered through his second bowl of Ice cream.

The blonde snickered a little as she watched the teenager eat, "do you?"

Max continued on, "uh huh, and 25 To Life is a really shibby name, how did ya' come up with it?"

Pulling her long, honey colored hair into to a pony tail, the blue eyed bassist grinned. "Alex and I came up with it one night when we were drunk." Julie smiled a little at the memory of her and her brother's drinking binge. "We said that being stuck in the group with Preston was as bad as jail. Alex said it was like a 25 to life sentence. After that, the name kinda stuck." 

The boy grinned, "that's cool. My friend Bea is kinda like prison too." Max gestured through the window, to the car, where his friend slept. "But she's pretty nice, I guess."

"She your girl?"

Max gave a nonchalant shake of his head, "naw, just a friend." 

"Ah," the blonde said knowingly, "I see." Slowly she sipped on her Coke as the seconds ticked by. Julie really like Max and thought that he was a lot like Alex when he was younger. Then again, almost every blonde kid she saw reminded her of her adopted brother.

"So," Max asked, interrupting her thoughts, "is Alex your boyfriend?" 

Julie smiled brightly, seeming to light up the diner, "he's my brother. I'm a single gal."

At this the teen brightened, "so, uh… … you into younger men?"

"No."

"Not even a little?"

"Nope, I like um' older."

Pausing for a sec, Max laughed, "We're going to the museum tomorrow, you wanna tag?"

That question caused the smile to leave Julie's face. She hated museums, in fact anything that was really old tended to rate at least a six on her 'Freaky Shit - O - Meter.' Even though she knew it was stupid, Julie felt as though all the relics in museums and things of the like were speaking to her. Not so much in words, but in a language of ages that only relics could understand. 

Every time she entered a Museum or took a trip to her mothers archaeology sites, she seemed to feel time watching her. Waiting for her. "Uh, I really don't think…"

Max's bright face fell as he lowered his blue eyes. "Oh… well, yeah. I understand…"

__

'Oh great job, Jules,' she thought to herself, '_you hurt the kids feelings_.' Looking at the downcast Max, who really did remind her of her brother, Julie sighed heavily. "I guess I could come for a bit."

Max beamed, "You can!? Great! It'll be a blast, you'll see!"

"Yeah," Julie forced a grin, "a blast."

~*~

Black energies and light leapt back and forth throughout the massive, dark cave, painting it's dank walls with eerie, jolting shapes. Then just as quickly as the energy started to leap, it receded back into the huge pit of crimson ooze from which it had come. 

A stillness came upon the dark place so suddenly that the air there in seemed to catch and hold it's invisible position along the murky walls and floor. An ambiance of still fear encompassed the crimson pool as a figure, clad only in the shadows of the night began to rise from it's dense depths. Slowly, as though held still in time, the figure began to take form.

A mass of human bones appeared in the pool, and quickly began to attach themselves to one another, as though guided by invisible hands, joint to joint, limb to limb. The bones were black, and brittle, but as they continued to gain structure, their color changed to dim ivory and the texture became marble smooth. The bones soon finished attaching themselves, and where a shadowy form had once been was now a human skeleton. 

When that was done, the pool's Crimson liquid proceeded to leak upwards, cascading and wrapping around the bones, ever so slowly developing tissue and veins. fashioning thick muscles and winding it's way throughout all the joints and nooks that the skeleton possessed. 

Flesh, as dark as the depths that gave it form, grew forth from the last of the red liquid and covered the muscles. Next, white hair slowly sprung out of the flesh covered skull, growing gradually at first, snaking its way outward and growing downwards, past the shoulders, to the middle of the back. 

Breasts, lips, teeth and fingernails formed themselves upon the now obviously female form, and brown-skined eyelids closed over empty sockets, only to reopen and reveal solid yellow eyeballs that glowed eerily in the dim light.

The liquid from the pool was no more. Only the woman remained. In an ageless glide, she walked from the empty hole where the pool had been and stood over-looking the cave, expressionless. 

"The time draws near, my Empress" Said a cold, male voice from the shadows. 

Without moving, the woman spoke. Her voice was that of an ethereal goddess, and seemed not to come from her lips, but from the cave itself. "Zadren."

Stepping from the shadows, a tall, red-robed male went to stand before the figure and then dropped to his knees, long black hair falling in front of his strong face. "Lady Xan."

Holding out her long, slender arm, Lady Xan commanded Zadren to his feet. "The time for blood approaches," she stated tonelessly. "Bring me the Cap Bearer."


	3. Part 3

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Part 3

Julie had arrived at the hotel to pick up Max and his friends in the late morning and by three O'clock all, including the reluctant Julie, we having a great time. The museum had proven to be more enjoyable than anyone had expected, with natural history, art, ancient civilizations, and dinosaur exhibits that both fascinated and informed. 

Much to everyone's surprise, Felix had turned out to be a great guide, leading them back and forth throughout the four story building explaining everything from Mozart to paleontology. The teen attributed his vast knowledge to the fact that his bedroom television had gotten stuck on the Discovery channel. 

"And this," Felix began importantly, pointing to the penis on a statue, "is a bad case of shrinkage." 

Max burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, and was forced to hold onto Felix to keep himself standing.

Bea giggled, and blushed. Nude statues always made her nervous, especially the ones of men. Being that she had only ever encountered the male member in text books, having it in front of her in 3D was more than a little embarrassing. 

Noticing her obvious lack of comfort, Julie patted Bea gently, "men, huh?" The blonde asked sympathetically.

Looking up into Julie's understanding face, Bea smiled a little, "yeah."

The blonde grinned as she put her arm around Bea's jacket clad shoulders, "their a pain. Let's ditch the guys for a bit and go grab a soda."

Bea looked up at Julie, and then to Felix and Max who were still laughing about the penis, and she smiled. "Yeah, lets."

"Me and Bea are gonna get a drink, we'll be back." Before the boys could follow or protest, Julie quickly led the younger girl out of the room and down a flight of stairs.

"Well, that's just not nice at all," Felix said impishly. Still grinning, he leapt on the shorter Max, and placed him in a head lock. 

"Ow… Hey!" Max yelled as he struggled to get away. "We're gonna get kicked out!" Max thrashed around for a few more seconds before he was released from his head lock, and in disorientation, fell to the floor. "Yeesh, Fe, what's wrong with you?" Max adjusted his cap so that it was no longer covering his blue eyes, and slowly he stood up. Expecting to see Felix standing over him gloating, Max was more than a little shocked when his eyes fell on his friend, dangling from Norman's arm, six feet in the air.

"Norman!?" Max questioned in shock, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We are here to speak to you, Might one." Virgil stated prominently, as he stepped out from behind Norman.

"Max!" Felix all but bellowed, "would you get this… THING, to put me down?"

With a nod, Max sighed, "put him down, Normie." 

The guardian scowled, but did what he was told. "Jerk," he muttered under his breath, heavily depositing the disheveled teen onto the marble flooring of the museum.

Satisfied, Max turned his attention to Virgil, "I thought this was my time off?"

"It was, Mighty One," declared the fowl firmly. "However, I am afraid that something has arisen most suddenly."

Glowering down at the Lemurian, Max snarled, "something's always 'arisen most suddenly'." Max's expression then softened to a pleading gaze, "can't we just let this one, you know,… Sort itself out?"

Dismissing the idea, Virgil transferred the Arcana he was carrying from one feathered hand to the other. "I think not, Mighty One, this is rather urgent." There were times when the fowl really did feel sorry for Max. He imagined that having the weight of the world on such young shoulders was more than wearisome. Combine that with all of the distractions in today's society; and the fact that Max never had a say in becoming the Cap Bearer and it was easy for Virgil to see why the youth resented his calling so much. However, this was neither the time nor place to discuss the injustices of fate. "Great evil is afoot…" 

Max folded his arms across his chest and sighed angrily, interrupting the beginnings of Virgil's speech. "Well what if I don't go?"

Virgil was taken aback. He knew that Max had been growing infuriated with his lot in life as of late, but the youth had never outright defied him before. "You must go, Mighty One…"

With a glare at Virgil, Max swallowed hard, "Stop calling me that! Max! My name is Max!"

"Very well… Max. You must go."

"Must I really? Why?!" The blonde threw his arms up into the air and yelled in aggravation, "Don't you get it..? It doesn't matter what I do. No matter how many people I save, my life will always be crap!" 

Felix looked at his friend with concern. "Dude..?" 

"Just go," stated Max gruffly, "I'll see you back home."

With a nod, Felix sighed and quickly walked out of the room to get Bea and head back to the hotel.

Max slumped his young shoulders and hung his head, "and just what is this 'great evil', anyway? Killer slugs? Cranky aliens? Vampires?" 

"Much worse, Mighty One, much worse."

~*~

Julie had really enjoyed hanging out with Bea. It had been almost like having a younger sister, something the adopted Julie had always desperately wanted. She had felt a pang of regret as she watched Bea drive away in the taxi that would take her and Felix back to the hotel. However her mind quickly left the regret and began to recall the events that had taken place a half hour before in the museum's cafeteria.

Felix had trudged in and told Bea that a Norman and a Virgil had come to take Max. When Julie had asked who they were, Felix had said that they were Max's long, lost uncles from Idaho. Bea had only sighed, and quietly sipped on the rest of her soda. After that Felix sat with them for a bit, and then four O'clock had rolled around and the teens had to return to their hotel so that they could head back to California with the rest of their class. It seemed that Max was going back with Virgil and Norman.

Julie had decided to stay at the museum for a while and see if maybe she was over her fear of old places. After all, during her whole time in the museum she had not felt uncomfortable once, save for the whole thing with Max, Felix and the penis.

Rolling her azure eyes, the blonde headed up the many steps and then through the large doors of the building. Deciding the best test of her phobia would be the ancient history section on the fourth floor, Julie quickly found an elevator had headed upwards. 

She had been walking around for only a few moments before that old feeling of being watched and spoken to in a language that was beyond her comprehension, returned to her in full force. Swallowing hard, she shuddered. '_Maybe I should just scrap this whole idea and get pizza_,' the blonde thought to herself and was about to turn around and head for the elevator when something caught her attention.

It was in a large display case, bathed in a soft light. A sword. Julie had never been particularly fascinated by swords or blades of any kind. However this one was different. The blade was four feet long and seemed to be made of a non brittle iridium with gold etched into the blade. The gold appeared to bleed upward all along the weapon to form an exquisitely crafted pommel and hilt which was sculpted into the shape of a winding dragon.

Forgetting her fears, Julie stepped closer to the case and leaned in to have a closer look. Upon further inspection she noticed that the edges of the blade had been set with a multitude of small diamonds that would make it lethally sharp. 

To the left of the sword was a small plaque that stated the blade's origin. 'This blade, called The FireLight, was unearthed twenty years ago at an undisclosed location in Northern Iraq. Though there is no recorded history of such a weapon ever existing, scholars have dated it back as far as 4000 BC and have guessed it's origin to be Sumerian. The sword's weight is over 15 pounds, and it is valued at thirty-two point five Million dollars.'

There was something about The FireLight that seemed to grasp Julie's heart and soul as though it held a piece of her inside of it's shimmering contours. The blade made all of her fears melt and her senses focus on nothing save for it's raw power. It seemed as though she and the weapon were in a world all their own... 

"Hey."

Giving a small shriek, Julie spun around at the sound of the voice, a look of shock and anger on her face. "What the hell do you wan… oh… …Hey Max." The blonde's voice softened a bit on the last part of her sentence.

Max grinned at her and strolled over to the display case. "Nice," he mused at the sword and then turned his attention back to Julie. "What are you still doing here?"

Wrapping her arms around her chest Julie snuggled deeper into her leather coat and sighed, "I, uh wanted to look around a bit more." 

"Gotchya."

"What are you still doing here?"

A clouded look crossed Max's face as he slumped his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Long story. I'm kinda here with some people, but I think I managed to ditch them." 

"Ah," stated Julie knowingly, "Norman and Virgil."

Max was stunned. "How do you know about them?"

With a shrug, Julie yawned, "Felix said they ran into you in the museum and they were your uncles or something." Looking around at all of the relics on display, the blonde shivered. "This place is creepy," she declared with a small shiver.

Max was about to reply, when he heard a familiar sounding voice from behind him. 

"Mighty one!" Virgil uttered in a breathless but desperate voice. The fowl had obviously been running and in a near frantic panic. 

Hanging his head, Max mumbled, "Virgil."

Julie turned to say a quick hello to Max's uncle, however when her eyes fell on the Lemurian she found that her Mouth didn't really feel like working. All she could do was stare wide eyed at the short, feathered creature in front of her, in total shock.

"What were you thinking," Virgil scolded Max, looking severely up at him. "You can not just run off when the fate of the world…"

Cutting him off, Max pointed at the shocked and confused Julie. "Ixnay on the atefay of the orldway!"

"Oh, I, um… didn't notice…" The presence of another person in the room had obviously flustered Virgil more than a little bit. "Umm… Greetings, Madam."

"You're a talking chicken!" Julie loudly blurted out, still wide eyed. 

"Fowl actually," Virgil stated importantly as he regained all of his lost composure.

Julie cocked her head to the side and then rolled her eyes, "O.K. then, your a talking fowl… uppity too. That would make sense I guess, considering you're one of MYhallucinations." She was attempting to deal with seeing Virgil the best way her brain knew how.

"I can assure you, I am NO hallucination." Affronted and more than a little vexed, Virgil sniffed indignantly and ruffled his feathers. "However, I suppose that type of reaction is to be expected."

Max looked up at Julie with pity in his eyes, remembering how shocked he'd been the first time he had seen Virgil. "I know it's hard to believe," Max began, "real hard. But you get used to it."

Blinking a few times, Julie swallowed, "used to it? Sure… no… uh… problem."

"Good." Seeing the matter as settled, Virgil looked to Max and continued. "You should not have run off…"

Whether Max had continued speaking to her, or the fowl, Julie couldn't really tell for she was past the point of listening to anything but her own thoughts. Taking a deep breath in, she remembered Virgil's words about not being a hallucination. However, she nor her brain were ready to confront the reality of a three foot, talking fowl who was carrying a book the size of bread box. It was impossible! There was no way that the thing in front of her could exist, but here it was. Arguing with a teenage boy about saving the planet, and shirking responsibilities.

There was no way around it, Julie had to sit down. Calmly, she walked across the large floor in the room, and plopped herself in one of the museum's many, hard chairs. "There", she said quietly, looking quizzically back to the scene she had just left. Shoving her hands in her jacket pockets, the blonde thought to herself, _'he looks a lot smaller from here. Maybe all chickens can talk? Yeah, that's it! They've just never bothered.' _

Max gazed at Julie, sitting sprawled out in the chair, with a worried expression on his face. "Virgil," Max stated seriously, "you have to stop freaking people out like that."

"Mighty One, that is really not my concern," turning his gaze from the boy to Julie, the Lemurian sighed, "but I will try to cut down."

"Good." Max folded his bare arms over his chest and turned to look at the fowl. "Where's Norman?"

Virgil thought for a moment, "I sent him around the lower floors looking for you."

With a groan, Max shook his head, "so I guess we just follow the screaming people to find hi…"

"Mighty One!" Norman declared loudly as he entered the room. 

"Normie," sighed Max as he stared to massage his temples.

It was at that moment, Julie looked to the door of the massive room and noticed the huge man striding in with a large sword strapped to his back. He must have been 7 or so, feet tall. Julie truly believed that she had gone crazy, and this was only adding to her belief. A part of her wondered if maybe she wasn't insane at all… But that part had been pushed aside during the shock of seeing a talking bird. "Max?" Julie bellowed, "is HE with you too?"

Jogging over to her, Max smiled weakly, "yeah, he is. Look, Julie… I'm really… I mean… that is…" Max was having trouble trying to tell her how sorry he was that she had to go through the stress of meeting his guardians.

Julie sighed, "This is all in my head right? I'm cracked? Daft? Deranged? Reeeaally tired?"

"Nope… sorry."

"Not even a little..?" The blonde asked hopefully. 

"Uh… no."

Virgil and Norman moved to join the Mighty One as Julie seemed to make a career out of studying her shoes. However when she noticed the large shadow looming over her, the blonde lifted her head and sighed in Norman's direction. "I suppose your NOT a hallucination either?" 

Norman shook his head stoically, as he looked down at the woman in front of him. Her blonde hair, azure eyes, though confused, piercing and deadly. Full, pouting lips; hard, golden, immaculate, skin… Norman sucked in his breath as his dark eyes went wide. Her. It was her! The warrior from his dreams, the one who plagued his immortal soul. She was here! Real! Alive! Norman couldn't speak, only stare at the woman who had been haunting every moment of his life for the past six months.

"Norman," Max stage whispered, leaning close to the warrior, "stop staring!"

Norman tried, and after a few minuets, he had managed to calm himself enough to look at the ceiling as he attempted to center his thoughts. During that time, Max and Virgil had given Julie the condensed version of exactly who they were.

"So…" the blonde said slowly mauling over her words. "You," she pointed to Max "are the 'Mighty One', who's destined to save the world with his magic hat?"

Virgil was about to interrupt her, but Julie kept speaking.

"And you," she gestured to Virgil, "are a talking bird, with an enchanted book that tells you how open doors to anywhere? And these doors, are a funky type of… …subway system, designed, like, a bazillion years ago by a bunch of weird, smart guys?" Julie then gestured to the distracted Norman, "and buddy over there, is an uber, old, warrior who's supposed to protect Max, with his big, bad ass, sword?"

"Well," began Virgil, slowly, "actually…somewhat… well… yes."

The blonde folded her arms across her chest, and sighed. "That's the biggest load of shi..." Julie's voice trailed off abruptly as all of the lights in the room slowly began to flicker, bathing everything in darkness then light. Suddenly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop to freezing, allowing everyone to see heir breath, and causing all but Virgil to shiver and huddle a little into their clothing. 

"What in the name of Odin..?" Questioned Norman as he drew his sword and protectively stepped closer to Max. 

As if on cue, all of the lights in the display cases dimmed to nothing, leaving only the flickering track lights on the ceiling to light the large room. 

"Virg..?" Max asked, hopping that the fowl could shed some light on the current situation. However the Lemurian never got the chance to reply, for at that moment all of the light bulbs and display case glass in the room spontaneously shattered.

"Get down!" Norman yelled, throwing himself, protectively over the Mighty one. 

Julie and Virgil dropped to the ground as shards of glass showered down over them and the room slipped into an eerie darkness. 

A bitter chill continued to tighten it's grip on everything as the crimson breaker lights switched on, allowing a red glow to envelop the display room, sending shadows and shapes every which way.

Slowly, Norman rose to his feet, followed by Julie and Virgil. All three quickly checked themselves for damages, and aside from a few cuts, found nothing. Virgil then looked to Max who had only now began to stand, "are you alright, Mighty One?"

Max wiggled his fingers then his toes and gave himself a quick inspection. "Yeah, Normie makes a pretty good shield."

"Just what the hell is going on?" Julie questioned as she brushed a few stray pieces of glass from her coat.

Virgil hung his head, but did not speak.

"Fine," she stated coldly, as her gaze traveled from the fowl to Norman, "then YOU tell me."

The guardian looked at Virgil's downcast stance and then into Julie's wintry eyes. He found that he was unable to say anything, for his brain was refusing to work again. Every time he looked at her, Norman's mind flew back to his dream. The guardian gave a violent shake of his head, '_no!' _He scolded himself, _'I will deal with the present situation first!' _

"It's... the evil," Norman stated darkly, looking from Max to Julie.

Virgil lifted his feathered head, and looked to Max. "This is why we have come here, Mighty One," he said sadly, "although I fear it may already be too late."

A cold, male voice spoke from the shadows, answering Virgil's statement, in a tone that cut through steel. "You are correct, Lemurian… it's is too late… for all of you." 


	4. Part 4

Part 4

The voice ripped through Julie's mind, screaming like the living dead. _'It's too late for all of you!'_

"It's too late…" Julie's voice trailed off as she looked around the dimly lit display room. The red breaker lights bathed everything in an unnatural crimson hue, and due to the alarms that were now blaring the two doors that lead out of the room had sealed themselves and gone into lock down. 

"Too late…" The blonde bassist cocked her head to the side, wrapping her arms around herself as shock set in. With glazed, unblinking eyes, she watched the action that played out in front of her. 

The moment the voice had spoken a large human/feline hybrid that seemed to be made out of nothing more than shadows had stepped from the darkness. Norman, the Viking warrior had stepped forward, sword in hand and had began to battle. However, it seemed a useless task, for every slash Norman made, the shadow thing seemed to laugh as the sword sailed right through it's wispy form. 

Max had then run from his place beside Julie as more shadow creatures emerged. The teen had grabbed a small chair and was flailing it at them as Norman continued to wage an impossible war. Virgil, on the other hand had crawled underneath a large display case and was consulting his book with mad fury. 

"They're going to die," Julie whispered, then swallowed hard. "_We _are going to die... I am…" The blonde's mind seemed to stand still after the last whisper left her lips. She would never see her family again. Never play another gig, or throw a wild party. She'd never race her car or go to work, or hang out with Alex. It was all going to be gone. She _was _going to die. There was no doubt in her mind.

Standing there amid a room full of chaos, Julie was frighteningly still. Combat raged around her, however the blonde's mind hardly seemed to notice as it dealt with the realization that her life was about to end. No more fun and friends, no more late night talks or men she cared about. Nothing but blackness. 

Slowly, silently, the blonde began to cry.

~*~

"Mighty One! Are you alright?" Norman yelled as he continued to slash at his insufferable foe.

Unsteadily, Max ducked a shadow creature's flailing claw then lashing out with his chair, causing the beast to disperse then reform in the exact spot that it had been in before, "not really!" He then backed up until he could sense that Norman was right behind him. "How are we gonna stop these things?" 

Norman was momentarily silent, as he ducked a flying claw. "Virgil!!"

"I _am _working on it, Norman!" Was the reply from beneath the display case. 

"Work faster!" Bellowed Max, who seemed to be having all of the trouble in the world lifting the heavy, high-backed chair, let alone swinging it. "We're kinda losing here!" 

"At last! " Virgil yelled triumphantly. "You must strike the lead creature in the heart!"

Norman gave an aggravated growl. "They don't _have _any hearts!" 

Flipping the page in the Arcana, Virgil shook his feathered head. "Where the heart SHOULD be, then!"

Glowering up at the translucent beast in front of him, Norman swallowed hard and -- with all of his force -- raised his sword over his head and struck the hulking creature where his heart should have been.

For the first time since the start of the battle, the warrior's sword did not swing harmlessly through the shadow. Instead, it connected with the core of the monster, and a thick, green ooze spewed from the wound as the transparent monster began to gain a solid mass. 

The other creatures followed suit, each becoming solid, and taking pitch black feline/human form. 

"Now!" Yelled Virgil, "you should be able to strike and harm them!"

"Wonderful…" Pulling his blade from the heart of the beast, Norman looked at the creature who bled before him. However, instead of a pained expression in the monster's coal black eyes, Norman found was pure malice. In one swift motion, the creature lifted his arm and smashed it into Normans chest. 

The guardian sailed through the air and the with a force that nearly shook the whole museum, the large Viking smashed into the cement wall head first. Norman's large body slid quickly down the wall and then to the ground, motionless. 

"Norman!" Virgil yelled in concern, as the fowl ran from his hiding place below the display and to the aid of his friend. 

At the sound of Virgil's shriek, Max dropped his now splintered chair and turned from the creature to see what had happened to his guardian. A look of horror crossed over Max's young face as he took in Norman's motionless form and deeply etched worry written in Virgil's eyes. "No…" Whispered Max. "Not Norman… Not again."

~*~

Julie looked at Max as tears continued to slide from her eyes and down her tanned cheeks. _'He's going to die here too…' _Julie allowed her arms to fall to her sides as the shock melted from her and was slowly replaced by something else. A protective instinct that normally only came into play when her brother was in trouble. _'I can't let this happen. I _Won't _let this happen! I can't let Max die!'_

Julie's eyes blazed. "This… Wont… Happen." Running from her position, Julie leapt into the air and grabbed Max before the creature behind him could bring down it's mighty arms and crush the teenager. 

"Julie…" Max said between sobs as the two of them slammed into the ground, "Norman's…"

"Fine," She finished for him, "Just out cold. Right now we need to worry about us." 

The beasts began to close in on all sides of the two blondes. Each one growling and oozing their soulless darkness. 

"I'm sorry I brought you into all this," Max said as he took up his best fighting stance and wiped the tears from his face. 

"It's not you're fault, kid… Well maybe… forget it..." It was then that a glimmer caught Julie's eye. Looking down next to her, the blonde saw the sword she had been admiring earlier. Picking up the weapon, she removed her leather coat and flexed her shoulders under it's weight. "Stay back and… Grab something pointy," she instructed Max.

Doing as he was told, Max grabbed a piece of broken glass that lay at his feet. With a quick look back at Norman and Virgil, the teen swallowed hard and then looked to Julie who had already began to slice awkwardly through the creatures.

The monsters howled at the assault and ripped at Julie's skin, hair and clothing, but still she kept on, slashing and stabbing all the way. "Fuck you!" she yelled at them, sweat pouring down her face. "Fuck all of you sick bastards!" 

Roaring in defiance the creatures battled with even more ferocity.

Julie only kept a step or two ahead of Max as she fought the ensuing number of monsters until there was a path big enough for him to slip through. "Go," Julie yelled to Max as a creature clawed her back. "Go NOW!"

Max shook his head and stabbed at the nearest beast. "I won't leave y…"

"Just go." Julie screamed. "Now!"

Throwing his piece of glass to the floor, Max looked the bloodied Julie and their eyes locked for a second before he slid through the hole and ran to Norman and Virgil. 

Julie felt the monsters get closer to her as their claws and talons ripped through her flesh. The second she had heard the voice say it was too late, Julie felt that she was going to die, but at least she's had a chance to help Max. With a slightly renewed vigour, she swung her weapon until -- being too weak to do anymore -- the weary, blood stained blonde slumped to the museum floor. 

"This… Is it," she mumbled, her head drooping to the side. With bleary eyes, Julie looked at the beautiful sword that she still held. Even covered with green blood, it was a site to behold. Brilliant, and glowing.

Looking at the swords increasing glow, Julie smiled a little. _'If we were all safe, I'd love to spend time studying you… Using you…' _

The sword glowed brighter and seemed to answer her, however by that time Julie's eyes had closed and her mind had slipped into darkness. 

~*~

Norman struggled against the darkness that enveloped his mind. The warrior was determined to climb forth from this obscurity back into the light from whence he came, however that seemed to be easier said than done. The main reason for this was the fact that Norman, for the life of him and no matter how hard her tried, was unable to see.

With an infuriated snarl, the Norseman gave up the pointless struggle to reclaim his vision, and instead tried to remember how he had come to lose it, that is if he had ever had it to begin with. At this point, Norman wasn't really sure. 

Taking a deep breath in, the warrior attempted to focus his thoughts to a time before this annoying darkness, however try as he might, the task was pointless. "Damn it!" Norman bellowed in total exasperation. Not only couldn't he see, but he had no memories to speak of. "Damn it!" 

His screams echoed back to him in hollow tones, and as Norman strained his ears and attempted to hear more, a faint dripping sound caught his attention. It sounded as though it was coming from somewhere close by. It was steady, rhythmic.

Slowly the darkness began to recede from his mind, and a few memories floated into his brain. The north, the snow, the gods, and his father. The blackness in front of his eyes was replaced by a gray fog, and Norman found that if he strained his eyes he was able to see the shapes of large rock walls.

The Lemurians, immortality, Virgil, Max. More memories found him as his vision continued to clear. Now the warrior could see a massive stone roof above him and huge boulders all around. There was no doubt that he was in a cave, but as to why, that was another story all together. 

Norman now remembered the museum and how a voice had spoken from the shadows. He remembered the massive beast that he had been battling, and Norman was sure that he recalled flying, rather quickly, across the room, although that part was a little fuzzy. 

Making sure that he was physically able, the warrior stood up in the large cave and gave a quick stretch. After a rapid check-over, Norman discovered that his sword and weaponry was intact, as was he. Norman also discovered that he was not alone in the cave. 

To his far left lay a sleeping, snoring Max and next to Max lay Virgil, who seemed equally content with his slumber.

After satisfying himself that Max and Virgil were --for the most part-- unharmed, the roan-haired warrior decided that it was time to explore his surroundings a bit. Best he gather his bearings before whomever had brought them here returned. There would most certainly be a battle, and he hoped at least some sort of explanation when Virgil awoke.

The cave was tall and long, but not all that wide. Perhaps sixteen feet across at most. Height wise however, it looked like the cave went up about ten stories and it seemed to be roughly the same in length. There were several boulders scattered about, which were large enough to provide cover if needed.

Light streamed into the cave through a bunch of small cracks and tiny openings in the high roof, and though it was a bit difficult to see, Norman could tell that there was no large opening in the roof nor was there one at the back of the cave where Virgil and Max slept. 

Satisfied that there was only one method of entry, Norman ventured farther forward --past large and now thoroughly explored boulders and a few short crevices-- towards the front of the cave. Instinctively, he pulled his large sword and his steps became silent as he neared the entrance. 

The Viking could see a bright and sunny afternoon looking back at him from the mouth of the cave, as birds twittered and a brook babbled in the near distance. Lush, green grass flanked the mouth of the cave, and spilled a few inches inward. A coniferous forest lay fifty feet beyond the grasses seemed to teem with life as Norman emerged from the cave. 

Taking a quick look around Norman noticed a small, human sized lump, in the tall grass not too far from the entrance to the cave. 

The warrior gripped his sword tighter, looked around quickly and cautiously stepped forward. _'This just gets crazier,'_ Norman thought to himself walking towards the lump. However as he got closer he discovered that the lump was not a lump at all, but a human form. 

Lowering his sword, Norman jogged to the body then knelt next to it. "Her," he whispered, looking down at Julie's motionless face and bruised and bloodied body. The blonde's clothes were tattered and torn, and her normally lustrous hair was matted and had been wretched from it's pony tail. 

Laying his sword on the ground, Norman placed his ear to Julie's chest and, much to his relief heard a faint heart beat. As he lifted and turned her head, the warrior was also pleased to see the slight rise and fall of her chest. However, his eyes lingered there longer than it took to find breath. 

Intense, coffee brown eyes traversed down Julie's long, wounded legs then back over her abdomen, chest and finally to the beautiful sword that she held in her hand. Norman attempted to pick up the weapon, but found that was not as easy as he expected. 

Julie held it with a death grip and it seemed as though the sword had an equally strong grip on her. 

__

'Just what the hell happened after I hit that wall?' The Viking questioned silently as he removed his hand from the sword and did a quick check of Julie to ensure nothing was broken. Satisfied the warrior picked up and sheathed his own sword. 

'And you,' Norman though as he lifted Julie in his arms and headed back into the cave. _'Who _ARE _you? Where did you come from… Why in the name of Odin are you in my dreams every night?'_

~*~

Max and Virgil had awoken soon after Norman re-entered the cave. Though they were both unharmed, neither had any explanation as to why they were here, or to how they had arrived. 

After a quick inspection of the foliage and climate, Virgil deemed that they were somewhere in northern Canada. The Lemurian was soon busy consulting his Arcana so that he might find a near-by portal and more information on what they had fought in the museum. Norman had decided that they would have to eat soon, and was busy hunting down some creature to part of Virgil's stew.

Max, on the other hand was sitting, cross legged, next to Julie, who was still out cold. The teen felt guilty for making her go to the museum that day, but more than that he was confused. Julie had protected him, even risked her own life so that he had the chance to live. But why? 

Looking down at Julie's motionless face, Max sighed heavily. The teen knew that the only person who could ever answer that question was Julie herself, and right now Max wasn't sure if that was ever going to happen.

"I'm sorry, Julie," Max whispered as he pushed a stray strand of flaxen hair from Julie's face. "It's my fault you're like this." 

Julie did not move, only continued to lay there, breathing lightly, dead to the world.

"Virgil," Max began, looking over his shoulder at the fowl, "are you really sure she's OK? I mean she's not really moving at all and her breathing…"

Coming to stand next to Max, Virgil looked down at the woman, and then to Max. "She is alright Mighty One. Norman and I tended her wounds and there is nothing punctured or damaged."

"But she's still not awake," argued Max with urgency. "She has to wake up soon…" 

Virgil sighed. "You must be patient, Mighty One."

Max turned away from Virgil to look at the cool, stone wall. "Julie saved my life, Virg… I would've died if she wasn't there. And now she's like this… because of me."

"It's not your fault," Virgil stated seriously. "Julie is your friend, and you would have done the same for her."

Max gave a small nod. A part of him believed what Virgil said, but another part of him wasn't so sure. "When it's Norman fighting, that's different. I… I know it's his job to protect me. Yours too. But Julie was just… I… I dunno."

Placing his hand awkwardly on Max's shoulder, Virgil looked intently at the teenager. "Julie saved your life, Mighty One, she knew what she was doing. I am sure she would not want you to be feeling like this."

With a sigh he straightened his back. Sulking wasn't helping matters any, and neither was sitting here thinking about things that had already happened. Slowly the Max got to his feet and turned towards the mouth of the cave.

"Mighty One..?" Questioned Virgil.

"Virg," stated Max with more bravery than he felt. We need to find a way back home, and stop whatever was in the museum. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

With a solemn nod, Virgil returned to his book and was soon absorbed in his reading. 

Hugging himself against the cool breeze, Max looked up to the darkening sky, regret in his light blue eyes. _'I guess I'll never get the chance to be really normal. But if it means that I can protect the people that I love then I guess that's just how it has to be. No regrets.'_

Pushing all thoughts of being a normal teenager from his mind, Max turned from the twilight sky, and walked to Virgil to see if he might be of some help. 

~*~

__

The warrior's gaze is feral - deadly, piercing like russet steel, solid as slate. He is the essence of power as he slowly stands up in the tall grasses, unadorned yet dangerous. Roan colored hair, long, blowing freely in the wind. Hard tanned flesh, covers his tall, strapping frame. 

She can see him, and a part of her races with excitement at the fact he is so near. She must run, make him catch her body, like he has captured her soul. Primal instinct flows through her as she leaps from the boulder, needing him to follow.

She tears through the foliage, her long golden hair catching the few brambles she can not avoid. She knows where she is running to --her territory, her place. She also knows she will beat him there, for she is fast as he is strong.

The woman's heart thumps in her chest as she can feel him gaining. She hears his footsteps crunch the jungle earth behind her. His sent blows lightly on the wind, it only increases her excitement, and her speed.

Soon she enters a small clearing surrounded by tall cliffs and huge, thundering falls of rushing water. She is home and he is near. Quickly she walks to a large boulder to await his arrival, the skimpy tiger's skin that she wears, caught with the sweat from her run.

The woman parts her lips in invitation as the warrior enters the clearing, and quickly he comes to her, his body hot, his eyes wild. Dropping to his knees it looka as though she is his master. In truth it is he who owns her soul.

The warrior places kisses upon her stomach, and soon her tiger skin falls to the ground. 

The woman runs her fingers through his hair, and caresses his face, her passion reaching it's peak. She has waited to have him for so long, so many life times. Now, at long last what she has ached for and needed is here… 

Julie slowly opened her eyes. The dream always ended there, however for the first time since it began, she didn't care. All that consumed her mind was the pain in her body and the memories of the museum that roamed darkly through her head.

Julie slowly opened her azure eyes and focused on the rocks above her as they flicked colours in the fire light. She didn't think that being dead would hurt so much, but as she attempted to move her head stinging pain sprang from her back. "Ow," Julie whimpered, she then released a long breath as the pain slowly subsided.

"Try not to move," Norman said from his place by the fire. "You're gonna hurt for a while."

Julie continued to look at the roof of the cave. "So this is hell, isn't it?"

"No, Canada," Norman replied.

She slowly rolled her head to the side and focused her gaze on the Norseman. He looked so much like the warrior from her dreams in the firelight -- polishing his already pristine blade. "No. I'm dead." Her tone was matter-of-fact. It was easier for her to accept being dead that it was to accept that they had somehow made it out of the museum and ended up in Canada.

Norman looked up from his sword and studied her for a moment. "Dead is easier sometimes." He then went back to his weapon.

Julie took in a deep breath. "This is all real, isn't it?" It seemed like a stupid question after everything that had happened, but she felt that in order to believe she had to hear it from someone who was flesh, bone and in front of her.

"Yes."

The fire popped loudly, and then the cave settled into silence, save for the occasional snore from Max who had curled up to sleep near Norman's side. 

Julie spent the next few hours easing her muscles into some state of order, and she had even managed to have some water and a little stew. However, she and Norman did not speak again until it was nearly dawn.

"I wanted to ask you," Norman began as he stifled a yawn, "if you knew how we got here?"

With a raise of her eyebrow, Julie slowly shook her head. No… I thought… well I don't know what I thought. You mean, one of you didn't do this?"

It was Norman's turn to look a little perplexed. "Virgil can't find any explanation for it. According to him we were all as good as dead with those shadow monsters. Then there was a bright flash of white light and we ended up here."

__

'A flash of light?' Julie swore she remembered something about light. Bright, celestial light. She closed her eyes and attempted to think back to the events in the museum which had now began to feel surreal to her -- as though they were a part of a movie she had watched. 

"I think I remember light," she said quietly "but I don't know where fro…" Then it hit her. The sword that she had been using. She thought it had began to glow right before she lost consciousness. It could have been her brain playing tricks or an illusion from the breaker lights in the room. However, as she reflected on it, it seemed less in her imagination. 

She opened her eyes and scanned the room for the weapon. "The sword," she said at last. "It glowed, right before I passed out."

Norman got to his feet and walked into the shadows towards the back of the cave. When he returned he was carrying the blade with him. "This?"

She nodded slowly as she watched the weapon glint in the fire light. "Yeah." She now felt certain of what she had seen.

Placing the weapon in front of Julie, Norman shook his head. "It took me an hour to get you to let go of it. You had a vice grip."

Julie felt safer with the sword near her, like it wanted to calm her. In fact when she was feeling antsy in the museum, the sword had drawn her to it's display case, and then later, when she needed to fight off the shadow creatures, it had been there again. It seemed as though it almost wanted to help her. "Do you think..?" She stopped and sighed. What was she saying? It was an inanimate object, nothing more. 

Norman looked at her expectantly. 

"It was stupid. I was just going to ask you if you thought _the sword _could have brought us here." Julie smiled at her own silliness.

Norman wasn't smiling, in fact as he studied the weapon, he face only grew more sombre. 

He looked intently at Julie and then walked from his place by the fire out of the cave and into the breaking morning. 

Looking from the sword to the lightening sky she shrugged her shoulders and leaned her head back against the stone wall as sleep found her.


End file.
